St. Cloud State Softball Readies For Six Game Homestand

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Softball (23-17, 6-8 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) returns home for the first time in two weeks on Friday. The Huskies welcome three teams to St. Cloud to play doubleheaders over a four-day stretch. The Huskies play Minnesota State (32-10, 12-4 NSIC) at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sioux Falls (16-21, 7-9 NSIC) at noon and 2 p.m. on Sunday and Minnesota Duluth (27-12, 8-6 NSIC) at 2 and 4 p.m. on Tuesday. All six games are scheduled to be played at Selke Field.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
Game One vs. Minnesota State – Saturday, April 13 / 1 p.m. CT / Livestream / Live stats
Game Two vs. Minnesota State – Saturday, April 13 / 3 p.m. CT / Livestream / Live stats
Game One vs. Sioux Falls – Sunday, April 14 / Noon CT / Livestream / Live stats
Game Two vs. Sioux Falls – Sunday, April 14 / 2 p.m. CT / Livestream / Live stats
Game One vs. Minnesota Duluth – Tuesday, April 16 / 2 p.m. CT / Livestream / Live stats
Game Two vs. Minnesota Duluth – Tuesday, April 16 / 4 p.m. CT / Livestream / Live stats

Links to each coverage option can also be found on the St. Cloud State Softball schedule page.

SERIES HISTORY
Minnesota State
Saturday will be the 146^th and 147^thmeeting between the teams. The teams' first meeting took place in 1976 and MSU holds an 84-61 lead in the all-time series. In 2023, SCSU dropped its first two games against the Mavericks, before winning the team's final matchup of the season in the NSIC Tournament. The Huskies are 4-6 against MSU in their last 10 matchups.

Sioux Falls
Sunday will mark the 26^th and 27^th meeting between the teams. The teams first met in 2013 and SCSU holds a 15-10 advantage in the all-time series. The Huskies swept Sioux Falls in 2023 and picked up another win earlier this year at the season-opening Kelly Laas Memorial Tournament. In the last 10 matchups between the teams, SCSU is 8-2.

Minnesota Duluth
Tuesday will be the 110^th and 111^th meeting between the teams. The series began in 1969 and UMD holds a 66-43 all-time advantage. SCSU went 1-2 against the Bulldogs in 2023. The Huskies are 4-6 in the teams last 10 matchups.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA STATE
Minnesota State is 32-10 (12-4 NSIC) so far this season and sit third in the NSIC standings. On Wednesday, the Mavericks were swept by NSIC-leading Concordia-St. Paul but prior to that doubleheader, had won 12 straight games, all coming against Northern Sun foes. MSU is on a two-game skid which ties its longest losing streak of the season.

MSU has seven players who are batting .300 or higher including four who are hitting over .350. Senior infielder Ellie Tallman leads the team in batting average (.386), at-bats (132), hits (51) and triples (four – tie). Freshman catcher/utility Courtney Kessler leads the team in doubles (11). Senior outfielder Kylie Sullivan leads the team in OPS (1.021), runs (25), triples (four – tie), total bases (74), slugging percentage (.587) and stolen bases (15). Sophomore infielder Gianna Lara leads the team in home runs (six), RBIs (37) and walks drawn (18). Lara was named NSIC Player of the Week on Feb. 27.

Freshman pitcher Maddie Oetzmann has made 22 appearances with 18 starts and owns a 16-2 record. She has recorded two complete game shutouts and has been a part of four additional shutouts. She has a 1.69 ERA and 1.18 WHIP and opponents are batting .223 against her over 87.0 innings. Graduate pitcher McKayla Armbruster has made 26 appearances with 20 starts and owns a 14-5 record. She has 10 complete games, three shutouts and has contributed to three combined shutouts. She has a 1.95 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP, and opponents are batting .235 against her over 122.1 innings. Oetzmann has been named NSIC Pitcher of the Week twice this season (Feb. 27 and March 4).

Lori Meyer is in her 40^th season at the helm of Minnesota State softball and owns a record of 1,483-830-7.

SCOUTING SIOUX FALLS
Sioux Falls is 16-21 (7-9 NSIC) so far this season and are ninth in the NSIC Standings. The Cougars have lost three games in a row, including their midweek doubleheader against crosstown rival, Augustana. USF is 3-7 over its last 10 games.

USF's offense is led by freshman infielder Riley Schwisow and junior outfielder Alannah Naumann. Schwisow owns a slash line of .423/.475/.769 with 44 hits (eight doubles, two triples and eight home runs). She has scored 35 runs, driven in 34 runs and is a perfect 11-for-11 on stolen base attempts. Naumann owns a slash line of .358/.381/.528 with 38 hits (six doubles, three triples and two home runs). She has scored 29 runs, driven in 11 runs and is 7-for-8 on stolen base attempts.

Sophomore pitcher Maddi Duncan has made 20 appearances with 19 starts and owns an 11-6 record with two saves. She has tossed 14 complete games and three shutouts. She has a 3.10 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP, and opponents are batting .247 against her over 113.1 innings.

Erin Bly is in her first season at the helm of Sioux Falls softball.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA DULUTH
Minnesota Duluth is 27-12 (8-6 NSIC) so far this season and sit in sixth place in the NSIC standings. The Bulldogs are 8-2 in their last 10 games, with their only two losses coming against NSIC-leading Concordia-St. Paul.

UMD is led on offense by senior infielder Julia Gronholz, senior outfielder Kat Burkhardt and junior infielder Nicole Schmitt. Gronholz owns a slash line of .382/.441/.491 with 42 hits (four doubles, one triple and two home runs). She has scored 22 runs, driven in 21 runs and is 11-for-14 on stolen base attempts. Burkhardt owns a slash line of .365/.436/.604 with 35 hits (seven doubles, four triples and four home runs). She has scored 23 runs, driven in 19 runs and is 9-for-10 on stolen base attempts. Schmitt owns a slash line of .336/.409/.516 with 41 hits (13 doubles and three home runs). She has 25 RBIs, has scored 18 runs and was successful on her lone stolen base attempt.

Senior pitcher Lauren Dixon has made 20 appearances (all starts) and owns a 14-5 record. She has tossed 15 complete games, six shutouts and has contributed to one combined shutout. She has a 1.28 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP while opponents are batting .156 against her over 126.0 innings. Freshman pitcher Maddy Walsh has made 19 appearances with 10 starts and owns a 7-1 record. She has thrown three complete games and has contributed to two combined shutouts. She has a 2.03 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, while opponents are batting .244 against her over 65.2 innings. Dixon and Walsh both have one save.

Lynn Anderson is in her third season at the helm of Minnesota Duluth softball and owns a record of 79-29.

LAST TIME OUT
The Huskies split its midweek matchup against Bemidji State on Wednesday in Bemidji.

Notes & Top Huskies from Game One – 3-2 loss (12 innings) to Bemidji State (April 10)

St. Cloud State moved to 78-12 in the teams' all-time series after the loss.
Junior first baseman Maggie Fitzgerald (Oak Lawn, Ill.) - 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
- Fitzgerald posted her seventh multi-hit game and second multi-home run game of the season. She tallied her 30^th hit and 11^th home run of the season while surpassing 15 runs scored. She extended her team lead in walks drawn to three after earning her 17^th of the season.
Junior right handed pitcher Emma Eickhoff (Becker, Minn.) - 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 4 K
- Eickhoff surpassed 100.0 innings pitched on the year and posted her 65^th strikeout.
Sophomore right handed pitcher Justyce Porter (Kent, Wash.) - 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 K
- Porter also surpassed 100.0 innings pitched on the season.
Fifth year right fielder Holly Weinberger (Waconia, Minn.) - 2-4, HBP
- Weinberger tallied her 11^th multi-hit game of the season while picking up her 40^th hit. It was the first time this season she has been hit by a pitch.
Senior second baseman Lydia Krueger (Appleton, Wis.) - 3B
- Krueger posted her first triple of the season and the second of her career (one in 2023).
Redshirt freshman third baseman Grace Frechette (Forest Lake, Minn.)- 2B
- Frechette hit her fifth double of the season.
Freshman shortstop Brooke Holmes (Savage, Minn.) - 2B
- Holmes also hit her fifth double of the season.

Notes & Top Huskies from Game Two – 5-2 win over Bemidji State (April 10)

The Huskies improved to 78-12 all-time against Bemidji State after the win.
Eickhoff (W, 9-8) - CG, 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 4 K
- Eickhoff picked up her ninth win of the season, tying her career best for wins in a season (nine in both 2022 and 2023). Also tied with Porter for most wins on the team this season. It was her fourth complete game of the season, and she surpassed 110.0 innings pitched on the season and 270.0 for her career. She tallied her 69^th strikeout of the season (tying her single-season best mark from 2022) and 200^th of her career.
Fitzgerald - 1-2, 2B, R, RBI
- Fitzgerald posted her 35^th RBI of the season and 80^th of her career.
Krueger - 1-3, 2 RBI
- Krueger recorded her second 2+ RBI game of the season.
Holmes - 1-3, R, RBI
- Holmes tallied her 15^th RBI of the season.
Junior outfielder/catcher Reese Holzhueter (Shakopee, Minn.) - 1-3, R, SB
- Holzhueter scored the 80^th run of her career and stole her 10^th base of the season.
Weinberger - 1-3, R
- Weinberger recorded her 215^th career hit.
Freshman outfielder Hannah Harms (Bartlett, Ill.) – RBI
- Harms made her first career start.

RECORD BOOK UPDATES
Senior second baseman Lydia Krueger (Appleton, Wis.) set the new single season HBP record of 19 after being hit twice on March 30 in the first game against Augustana – the previous record of 18 was set in 2022 by her former teammate Raven Vanden Langenberg. She also owns the No. 3 spot on that list after being hit 16 times last season. Incredibly, she is just three short of setting the new career record after only tallying four in her first two seasons.

In the Huskies first game of the season, a 19-3 win over Black Hills State a pair of Huskies produced school record performances. Junior corner infielder Maggie Fitzgerald (Oak, Lawn, Ill.) tied school records for home runs in a game (two) and RBI in a game (seven). She was the first player to have a two-home run game since Raven Vanden Langenberg in 2023 and a seven RBI game since Jasmin Estrada in 2021. Freshman shortstop Brooke Holmes (Savage, Minn.) tied the school record for singles in a game (four) in her first collegiate game. She became the first player to hit four singles in a game since Emily Edgerton in 2010.

NSIC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
St. Cloud State sophomore right handed pitcher Justyce Porter (Kent, Wash.) was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Softball Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 20. It was her first NSIC weekly honor this season and of her career. She was the second Husky to earn NSIC weekly award honors after junior outfielder Reese Holzhueter (Shakopee, Minn.) was named Player of the Week on Feb. 5.

Porter earned three straight saves to end the Huskies 3-1 stretch in Sioux Center, Iowa. She appeared in all four games and did not allow an earned run over her 9.0 innings. She struck out five batters and only allowed five hits (all singles) – opponents hit just .129 against her.

NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
St. Cloud State junior outfielder Reese Holzhueter (Shakopee, Minn.) was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Softball Player of the Week on Feb. 5 for her efforts in the Huskies opening weekend sweep. It was her first NSIC weekly honor this season and of her career.

Holzhueter went 3-for-3 with two doubles and a home run, scoring three runs and driving in three runs made her in her debut for the Huskies. She hit .600 (6-for-10) in SCSU's 3-0 opening weekend. Five of her six hits were extra base hits – three doubles, one triple and one home run. She drove in four runs, walked once and was successful on her lone stolen base attempt. Holzhueter led the NSIC with a 1.400 slugging percentage and a 2.036 OPS.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Softball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.